Winter Break Recap and Goals for 2024

The spring semester is underway, with Joss’s third-grade class diving right into double-digit multiplication the day school began. I’m grateful to be back into a routine, but also exhausted from staying up too late watching “School Spirits” too many nights in a row, oops. Below, I’ll share some of our Winter Break highlights – including a couple new-to-us boba places we tried out! – and some goals for 2024.

But first, a very brief look back on 2023. 2023 was a stressful year, but, as I noticed over Thanksgiving, at least I didn’t get shingles again. So…that was nice. I’m still not driving on highways, but I did manage to do some fairly brave (IMO) things last year:

1. Audition for Spotlight Children’s Theatre with Joss. We both got roles and ended up loving it! We haven’t auditioned again just because of scheduling issues, but hopefully next summer. (OK, looking back, the audition was at the end of 2022, but the rehearsals/performances were 2023 🙂
2. Submit artwork to an art contest and market. I’ve did a LOT of painting last year, mostly between October and December. In October, I submitted three small paintings to Celebrity Attractions‘ Beetlejuice-themed art contest. There weren’t many submissions, so everyone who submitted something got two free tickets! Totally worth it. I also reached out to Hummingbird Fine Craft, Inc., in November, when they were looking for December weekend vendors. It was just $25 to set up a booth at their gallery, so I figured that would be worth it even if I didn’t sell anything. Check them out if you’re looking for local art and gifts. They feature local artists of all ages, and were very nice to work with.
3. Get involved with Pokémon TCG. I was very intimidated the first time I tried taking Joss to a Pokémon TCG (Trading Card Game) event. But as we’ve kept going, it’s become a wonderful community for us and provided a lot of screen-free entertainment.

Winter Break Fun

We didn’t accomplish everything on our Winter Break to-do list, but of course we did some things that weren’t on the list, too.

Boba

Someday I’ll make a post just about the Tulsa area’s many boba shops. At least, more than I realized. Joss got very into boba when we first went to Pinkeasy (now Pinkitzel on Cherry Street). But their boba is not the cheapest, and they don’t have some of the more traditional toppings like jellies, etc.

First, we tried Hey Boba near 71st and Lewis. It’s a to-go-only place, and they also have some yummy appetizers. I especially liked the egg rolls, although I had to let Joss eat the majority of them. I loved my Earl Grey milk tea. Joss got peach, and it wasn’t his favorite, but I tried some and thought it was good. And there are so many flavors, we will definitely be back!

Our Pokemon Go buddy Haxorus hanging out at Hey Boba

A week later, we visited Cha Bubble Tea at 71st and Memorial. They had even more topping options! I tried sea salt cream and oreo pieces in jasmine milk tea, which was very rich but tasty. They had a nice selection of games, too, so we enjoyed playing a quick card game while sipping boba.

Other highlights

Condensing this so it doesn’t drag on. Other fun things we did over Winter Break that I’d recommend include:

• Visiting the Conservatory at Woodward Park. It’s beautiful year-round, but the poinsettias made it exceptionally gorgeous!

• Seeing Santa at Denver Ave. Station. Denver Avenue bus station downtown has hosted a couple fun events lately. We missed their trick or treat event, but made it to see Santa. It was a lovely set-up and we enjoyed seeing this historic building. Plus, they printed out the picture, which was a very nice touch. So keep an eye out for future Tulsa Transit events downtown.

And apparently we were on TV. A friend sent us this screenshot, ha.

Cheerful windows at Denver Ave. Station

• Rocky Horror at Circle Cinema. Joss stayed home for this one, but I celebrated New Year’s (on Dec. 30) at Circle Cinema’s Rocky Horror event. Apparently, this is a tradition going 17 years strong! We got $5 prop bags and had fun throwing rice, confetti, toilet paper, etc. at the screen throughout the show. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Goals for 2024

I’m not terribly goal-oriented, so we’ll see how this goes. I think the main ones would be to figure out a monthly budget and to get driving on the highway, at least occasionally. Those aren’t terribly interesting, but they’d probably be the most helpful.

Do you have goals for the new year? What are they? Tell us about them in the comments!